With Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton both potentially out of action for the remainder of 2022, WWE needed to think of something fast to keep Roman Reigns busy over the summer. Turns out that something is Brock Lesnar who returned to the fold for the first time since WrestleMania last week on SmackDown. Lesnar has stepped right back into the number one contender spot and will clash with Reigns for the Undisputed Title at SummerSlam.
Lesnar And Reigns vs. Cena And Orton
The decision to have Lesnar and Reigns clash again hasn't been a popular one with a lot of fans. The Beast Incarnate and The Tribal Chief have clashed so many times at this point, some fans have started to compare it to John Cena's rivalry with Randy Orton. The two legends, who have 30 World Titles between them, infamously wrestled each other a lot, especially between 2007 and 2009.
While it does feel like Lesnar and Reigns are starting to infringe on Cena/Orton territory, their rivalry hasn't reached that level quite yet. ComicBook.com has broken down the stats, revealing that between live events, TV, and PPVs, Cena and Orton competed in the same match an incredible 203 times. However, since Lesnar hasn't been a live event guy for years, and Reigns appears to have joined that club too, comparing those numbers is a little unfair.
Long Way To Go
In fact, even comparing the number of times each pair has wrestled together on TV wouldn't be great, as Lesnar hardly ever does that either. PPVs, in particular major PPVs, are what really matters here. The Franchise Player and The Viper competed in singles matches on PPV 10 times. Believe it or not, Reigns and Lesnar's SummerSlam match will only be the sixth time they've clashed one-on-one on PPV. Actually, seven if you include the match that became a triple threat thanks to Seth Rollins' cash-in.
Even when you include multi-person matches in which both Superstars were involved, counting Royal Rumbles too, Lesnar and Reigns are still way behind. 23 times for Cena and Orton, but just 11 for Reigns and Lesnar. Yes, the comparison between the two feuds is amusing, but whenever you feel like Reigns and Lesnar has been done to death, remember, we are still a long way off it being recycled as much as Cena versus Orton ever was.
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